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Adrianna's
Christmas Miracle
Grandma had said they had things to do. What could she possibly mean? It was Christmas morning. Their breakfast table was laden with food that Adrianna only had on very special mornings. She knew what was under their skimpy holly Christmas tree and so decided she would take her time in savoring every crumb and morsel of her egg, sweet roll and bacon. To add to the beauty and meaning of their Christmas morning Grandma reached over and picked up her old worn Bible. While Adrianna continued to slowly eat, Grandma began to read the Christmas story found in the book of Luke. Adrianna had heard the story countless times but her heart was always filled with gladness when she heard the familiar words of the second chapter. "11
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
savior, which is Christ the Lord. When Adrianna finished her breakfast the plate gleamed almost as clean as it was before she ate.There was not a trace of food left on it. Her face beamed brightly with a satisfied smile as she thanked her grandmother for such a lovely Christmas breakfast. Grandma laid the Bible on the table, leaving it open where she had been reading. “Grandma, what do we have to do today?” “We have to take our gifts to the neighbors Addy. It’s Christmas and I want to get done with the deliveries soon so I can get back and finish our Christmas dinner. “ “What gifts do we have to give, Grandma?” Adrianna was puzzled because she knew there was not enough money for them. How was Grandma going to give something to someone else? “I made cookies to share with our friends and egg customers, Addy. Before you ask, you know I saved some for you. We also need to take the preacher and his wife the afghan I made for them. Go put your coat on and I’ll gather up the packages of cookies.We need to hurry.” Addy could not figure out what the rush was since she knew there was little foood in the house but she hurried along anyway since Grandma had been so insistent. There was a lot of walking to be done and the packages would become heavy so they packed them in Addys old toy red wagon. It rattled and squeaked along behind them and each sound it made seem to irritate Addy. She didn’t need that squeaky old wagon to remind her that they didn’t have a nice car to ride in instead of walking in the cold. It didn’t seem to bother Grandma since she had never owned a car and had walked almost everywhere she needed to go. Each stop they made to deliver cookies seemed to bring joy to the family receiving them. There were warm hugs and invitations to come inside and visit. Grandma declined all offers graciously with the excuse that they still had stops to make. Always before leaving they were given something in exchange for the cookies. Addy noticed that the wagon seemed to be more full as they neared the end of their journey than when they began it. The last stop was at the preacher’s house. His wife came to the door and this time Grandma accepted the invitation to come inside but only for a few minutes to warm her bones. This house had to belong to a preacher, thought Addy, because it was about as close to heaven as she had ever been on this earth. Every room was neat as a pin and decorated for the holiday. It looked and smelled like the pastry shop and the flower shop had all been tied up in a pretty Christmas bow and put inside. The preacher’s wife explained that the preacher was out taking care of some Christmas errands and wouldn’t be home for a while. Grandma insisted that their present be opened without him because they needed to get home. Their own errands had taken longer than had been expected and they still had their own Christmas dinner to finish preparing. The preacher’s wife clapped her hands with joy when she opened Grandma’s afghan. It was made of a rich blue and trimmed in snow white. She exclaimed that it would look perfect on the back of her living room sofa and proceeded to demonstrate as she carefully draped it there. She was right. It did seem to have found a place of glory to rest, giving honor to Grandma’s hard work on it. Grandma gave a satisfied glance back at it as she announced that they must be on their way. Warm hugs were exchanged along with promises of prayer remembrances. It was not until they were almost home that Addy realized that the one place where they had stopped and given the largest gift was the one place where they had received nothing in return. This was puzzling to her but she decided to keep her thoughts to herself for now. Their little house was within view and both Addy and Grandma were glad to see it. The long walk had been tiring for both of them. Their little Christmas tree could be seen twinkling through the front window. Addy was sure Grandma had not left it on but she was glad to see it. It was by far not be the fanciest Christmas tree she had seen today but it gave her a bit of warmth to see it welcoming her home. Grandma gathered the packages into her arms and went on into the house. Addy took the little red wagon back to it resting place in the barn. Pulling her coat close around her, she shivered from the cold wind as she ran across the yard into the house. Banging the back door as usual, she heard wonderment in Grandmas voice as she called her to the sitting room. What she saw before her eyes made her stop dead in her tracks. She could hardly see their little Christmas tree. It was surrounded by packages with pretty red ribbons and green bows. The top of the tree was adorned with the most beautiful angel she had ever seen in her life! How did this happen? Where did these things come from? Questions tumbled around in her mind but her lips remained frozen in astonished silence. “Addy, come see what the Christmas angel left for you.” Grandmas own voice was trembling as if she were near tears. Together they began exploring the wonders beneath the tree. There was a new coat for Addy that fitted perfectly along with new shoes and pair after pair of new socks. When she tried on the coat her hand automatically went to the pockets. Inside the pockets she found pretty new gloves. She had books to read. There were toys to be played with and a tiny music box that had a dancing ballerina on top. She found her gift from Grandma, which was a new crocheted hat to keep her ears warm. Grandma found a new winter coat for herself as well as new shoes and warm cotton stockings. She had presents of sweaters and scarves and a bottle of the sweetest smelling perfume. That was something Grandma had never said anything about wanting. It would have been too frivolous to want for such things. When she opened the tray Addy had made for her she stopped and gave her a warm hug. “This may well be my most cherished gift of all Addy. It has so much of your love interlaced in it.” “Oh Grandma, it was nothing.” Addy mumbled, but she hid a smile of delight. Just when they thought they had received everything that one could possibly want Addy heard Grandma catch her breath in startled amazement. Addy looked up from the package she held on her lap and followed Grandma’s eyes. Resting against the wall, almost completely hidden behind the Christmas tree was a shiny new blue bicycle! Together they carefully pulled it from behind the tree. A big red bow was tied in the middle of the handlebars. The bow was so large; it almost filled the wire basket that was mounted on the front. Who could have known that Addy was afraid to walk the long walk from the bus to their house? She had never told anyone. Now, she could ride her bicycle to the highway and leave it behind a tree until she got back in the afternoon. She could be home twice as fast. The discovery of the bicycle was what was needed to pull them from the Christmas tree. They took it outside so Addy could practice learning to ride it. After a couple of fruitless attempts she was riding like a champ. Grandma went back inside the house to prepare their Christmas dinner. The gifts they had received in exchange for their cookies had almost all been holiday food. Grandma kept a watchful eye out the window at Addy as she went about laying their holiday table. When she called Addy inside the sun was slipping behind the trees. After feasting on more food than either of them had seen in a long while they were exhausted. Addy went back outside to check on her new bicycle and decided since it had begun to snow that it would fair better if she brought it back inside. She placed it carefully back behind the little twinkling Christmas tree and climbed up on Grandma’s warm lap. It was there that she fell asleep wearing a warm Christmas smile. Maybe Santa was delayed in his rounds. Maybe there was a Christmas angel. Whatever and whomever did not matter to Addy. All she knew for certain was that there was such a thing as a Christmas miracle! By
** All images ŠTom Sierak and used with permission** **Personal Note: Thank you Mr. Sierak for your kind expressions regarding my writing and for the use of your beautiful graphics which enhance my words.
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